John Petherick
John Petherick (* 1813 in Glamorganshire , † July 15, 1882 in London ) was a Welsh Africa traveler and mining engineer . He was the first Briton who lived in Sudan for many years (15 years, with breaks) .
Life
In 1845 Petherick entered the service of Muhammad Ali Pasha and was involved in an unsuccessful coal search in Upper Egypt , Nubia , Kordofan and the Red Sea coast .
In 1848 he left the Egyptian service and became a trader in al-Ubayyid , where he did business mainly in gum arabic . At the same time he became the representative of the British Consul in Sudan. In 1853 he moved to Khartoum and traded in ivory there . He traveled extensively in the Bahr al-Ghazal region , where he explored the Sue-Jur , Yalo and other tributaries of the Bahr al-Ghazal .
In 1858 he advanced to the Azande . Its contribution to natural history is considerable; White-naped bog antelope and shoebill were his discoveries. In 1859 Petherick returned to England, where he met the Africa explorer John Hanning Speke , who was preparing for an expedition to the sources of the Nile . Pitt Rivers acquired much of the African objects Petherick brought with him through the Royal United Services Institute .
During his stay in England he married Katherine Edelman and published about his travels.
In 1861 Petherick returned to Sudan with the rank of consul; his wife accompanied him. On behalf of the Royal Geographical Society , he was to create supplies for John Hanning Speke and James Augustus Grant to Gondokoro . In 1862 Petherick sent boats to Gondokoro, but Speke and Grant did not show up. Petherick raised a force of locals who were sent south to find the missing. Meanwhile, Petherick and his wife made another trip to Bahr al-Ghazal, where they established an important collection of plants and fish. They returned to Gondokoro in February 1863, where one of their boats was already with supplies. Speke and Grant had arrived four days earlier and had already been received by the Africa explorer Samuel Baker . Speke accused Petherick of not fulfilling his obligations to him and Grant. This is unfounded. Another allegation that Petherick tolerated and even participated in the slave trade is unfounded. Indeed, in his role as British consul, Petherick tried to stop the slave trade, but his opponents' allegations were initially believed. The allegations led British Foreign Secretary John Russell to dissolve the British Consulate in Khartoum in 1864.
Petherick's reputation was damaged: He had to shoulder high financial expenses to support Speke, and the Pethericks were in poor health. Orders from Sudanese Governor Musa Pasha Hamdi put an end to Petherick's trading activities. The Pethericks had no choice but to return to England in 1865.
Back in England, Petherick fought a successful battle for his reputation. However, Petherick could no longer take action against Speke, as he had already died in 1864 under unexplained circumstances (accident or suicide). After lengthy efforts, Petherick, with the support of the new British Foreign Minister Edward Henry Stanley , was able to obtain compensation from the Egyptian government for the actions of Governor Musa Pasha Hamdi. In 1869 the Pethericks published their book Travels in central Africa, and explorations of the western Nile tributaries , which also addresses Speke's allegations.
Works
- Travels in central Africa, and explorations of the western Nile tributaries , London, 1869 ( Online )
literature
- Encyclopædia Britannica from 1911 ( online )
- Sudan Studies Society of the UK: JOHN PETHERICK FRGS THE FIRST BRITISH RESIDENT , Issue Number 17, September 1995 [1] (PDF; 1.4 MB)
Web links
- Literature by and about John Petherick in the WorldCat bibliographic database
- Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland via John Petherick [2]
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sudan Studies Society No. 17 1995, p. 2
- ↑ Pitt Rivers Museum via John Petherick: Archive link ( Memento of the original from June 18, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Sudan Studies Society No. 17 1995, p. 8
- ↑ Sudan Studies Society No. 17 1995, pp. 15-16
- ↑ Sudan Studies Society No. 17 1995, pp. 17-18
- ↑ Sudan Studies Society No. 17 1995, pp. 20-21
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Petherick, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Welsh Africa traveler and mining engineer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1813 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Glamorganshire |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 15, 1882 |
| Place of death | London |